PlanJam!From your screen to the scene

If you want to get out of the city, love flowers, gardening, art, or just need a change from the usual girls night out routine, Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino is a refreshing daytime excursion. Wear comfortable shoes, because there is plenty to see and do here, and about 120 acres of it!

Started by Henry Huntington over 100 years ago, Huntington Botanical Gardens now offers some 15,000 kinds of plants from all over the world. The estate is beautifully landscaped with over a dozen themed gardens, and features a Cafe, Tea Room, and Gift Shop.

In the Japanese Garden you’ll find an upper middle class home from the 1800’s built in the Shoin style, a brook of koi fish, and an elegant high arching bridge. Flowering plum, bamboo, and Japanese Black Pine are planted throughout, with a special pavilion dedicated to Bonsai trees.
This year (2008) the Rose Garden celebrates its Centennial at the Huntington, and the official flower of the Centennial is the Huntington Rose, a many-petaled English rose created by David Austin Nurseries and named specially for the Huntington. The best months to visit the Rose Garden are from May to July, and October to November when the roses are in full bloom.

Starting February 23rd, 2008, the Chinese Garden will be open for the first time to the public. Plants like camellias, pine and lotus are classically landscaped around a 1.5 acre lake, along with hand sculpted stone bridges, and a canyon waterfall against a backdrop of tall California oaks.

There are many other gardens to explore including the Camellia Garden, the Herb Garden, the Australia Garden, or the Jungle Garden, which sits beside a lush Lily Pond. Neo-classical statues, ornate fountains, and benches with fanciful faces grace the well-groomed lawns, or serve as shady spots throughout the Gardens to take a break and decide what to see next.

For after the gardens, there is still more to see. The Huntington Art Gallery remains closed for renovation until May 28th, 2008, but you can still view Gainsborough’s famous “Blue Boy,” and Lawrence’s “Pinky” among other distinguished works of British and French art from the late 16th through the 18th centuries at the Erburu Gallery.

If that’s not enough, the Huntington Library Exhibition Halls display some of the most treasured rare books and manuscripts of Anglo-American civilization, including the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and early editions of Shakespeare's works. Many of these volumes are “illuminated” or feature colorful pages of hand painted illustrations and intricate works of calligraphy.

By now you’ll be pretty tired, but don’t forget to stop by the Huntington Gardens Gift Shop on your way out. Cards with exhibit images, gardening books, hats, shirts, pins, scarves and even parasols are among the novelty items available for purchase.

Adult admission to the Huntington is $15 on weekdays and $20 on weekends and Monday holidays. Seniors, students, children and large groups receive discounts. The first Thursday of every month is free but you need to make reservations in advance. For gardeners, on the second Thursday of every month, free lectures are given in the Friend’s Hall by authors and gardening experts from all over the world, culminating in plant sales in the Plant Sale Nursery.

The Huntington is located near Pasadena, about twelve miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Photos courtesy of Randolph Scott